April 8th is the day that women’s pay in the US, on average, catches up with men’s pay from the previous year. It’s called Equal Pay Day, and Democrats and President Obama used the day yesterday to draw attention to the existing gender wage gap.

Congressional Democrats pressed their case for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would close some loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which Obama signed as his first act as President. And Obama signed a directive, effectively requiring paycheck fairness for all federal contractors.

But the GOP claim the moves are part of an election year ploy to win over female voters, calling the backing of the Paycheck Fairness Act, “condescending” and “desperate” electioneering. They point out that the White House itself doesn’t meet the standards it is calling for.

The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, concluded that women White House staffers earn 88c for every dollar men earn. The Paycheck Fairness Act has twice failed to pass. Some female Republicans are calling for a narrower alternative to it.

GUEST: Ariane Hegewisch, Study director at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, an organization that has worked to promote closing the gender wage gap

Program Archives

Announcements

On July 8, 2014, Israel launched air strikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza, followed by a ground invasion. The ensuing fifty-one days of war left more than 2,200 people dead, the vast majority of whom were Palestinian civilians, including over 500 children. Intrepid journalist Max Blumenthal has just released a new book The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza.

TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR – FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED.CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS AHEAD OF TIME.